Obama White House 'sort of choked' on response to Russian interference, former official says

A top Obama administration official has acknowledged that the former leader's White House "choked" in its efforts to respond to interference by Russia in last year's election.

In a Washington Post article published Friday, a former senior Obama administration official said the slow-moving and cautious efforts taken by the White House to deal with Moscow's meddling was "the hardest thing about my entire time in government to defend."

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"I feel like we sort of choked," the official said.

Obama White House officials had learned as early as August 2016 that Russian hackers were attempting to interfere with the election and had been ordered to do by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Obama himself, however, did not want to give the impression he himself was interfering in the race, especially given then-candidate Donald Trump's repeated claim that the election was "rigged," The Washington Post reported.

Former President Barack Obama. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

As a result, administration officials were reluctant to move forward with any overt measures to counteract the Russian hacking, The Post reported.

At various times, however, officials considered launching their own cyberattacks on Russia or even releasing Putin's financial records.

But a formal response didn't come until after the election, when in December Obama approved new sanctions against Russian and kicked out 35 Russian diplomats from the U.S.

Donald Trump in the White House

"This situation was taken extremely seriously, as is evident by President Obama raising this issue directly with President Putin; 17 intelligence agencies issuing an extraordinary public statement; our homeland security officials working relentlessly to bolster the cyber defenses of voting infrastructure around the country; the President directing a comprehensive intelligence review, and ultimately issuing a robust response including shutting down two Russian compounds, sanctioning nine Russian entities and individuals, and ejecting 35 Russian diplomats from the country," the official told The Post in a statement.

President Trump, who has repeatedly questioned the intelligence community's findings that Russia interfered in the election, responded to the revelation in a tweet.

"Just out: The Obama Administration knew far in advance of November 8th about election meddling by Russia. Did nothing about it. WHY?" he wrote.

Earlier this month news emerged that Russian hacking efforts were so frequent and so persistent that top Obama administration officials had contacted Russian officials in October, using the so-called "red phone" system, a secure, immediate direct messaging line to the Kremlin, to complain and demand they stop the efforts.

Officials also warned Moscow that they would respond to the efforts, Bloomberg News reported.